Are men the new minority in college applications?

For the past few years the percentage of women applying to, and attending, college has been increasing relative to the number of men. According to the “State of College Admission” from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in 2004 women submitted 58% of college applications. The significance of this is that many colleges are increasing the acceptance rate for men compared to women. This is seen most particularly among many of the liberal arts colleges. There are some colleges, particularly those with a more technical focus, where male applications still dominate. At MIT for instance, the 2006 acceptance rate for men was 9.7% while the acceptance rate for women was 22.4%. However, for most colleges, men are beginning to have an advantage in the admission process.

Because of the acceptance rate variations that are developing based on the sex of the applicant it is becoming more important for students to investigate the actual acceptance rate for men and women to determine what the actual rate is for men compared to women.